Fading Away
by IReallyLoveSantana
Summary: Any normal person who looked at Marley wouldn't see an ounce of fat on her thin little body. However, Marley Rose was not any normal person.
1. Chapter 1

Marley bolted up the stairs as soon as she got into her house, abandoning her bag halfway up and have her hair pulled back when she reached the top. She burst through the bathroom door and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. Shoving two fingers into her mouth, she pushed them to the back of her throat and immediately felt the familiar gagging sensation. After three or four gags, she finally was able to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. After retching a couple more times, she straightened up and staggered to the sink.

Marley rinsed her mouth out and brushed her teeth, as she always did after one of her "sessions". She stared at her reflection in the mirror and fixed her hair, knowing the color would return to her face soon.

Marley opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hallway. She jogged halfway down the stairs, grabbed her bag, and returned to her room. She tossed it down on the floor and then hopped into her bed. Now that she had gotten rid of that food weighing her down, she felt lighter, and _smaller._ She was going to have to find a way to be able to feel this way for glee next time. The whole she was on stage earlier, she knew everyone was noticing how far her stomach stuck out. They were probably comparing her to her mother.

Now, Marley loved her mother with all her heart. She was the strongest, bravest woman Marley had ever met. And it hurt her when the kids made fun of her. But Marley didn't want to _become _her mother. She didn't want her future son or daughter to have to deal with the bullying and heartache that she and her mother were put through every day.

* * *

It was several hours later when Marley heard her mother returning home from the grocery shopping and taking her younger daughter to her musical practice. Marley heard their muffled voices and the sound of groceries being put away. Soon enough, a pair of footsteps came up with steps and Marley heard a knock on her door. "Come in." The brunette called, closing her laptop. Her door opened and her mother stepped in.

"Hey baby! How did your rehearsal go?" The cheerful woman asked, smiling at her daughter.

"Great, they let me sing lead vocals." Marley replied, gesturing at her sheet music.

"Wow, lead vocals at your first rehearsal? I told you you'd do great." Her mother laughed. Marley chuckled and nodded.

"You know, Maddie's really been taking after you lately." The woman said, turning and heading downstairs again. Marley followed her.

"Really?" The teenager asked curiously.

"Really. Why do you think she got into that little musical of her's?" Her mom said as she opened the fridge and started pulling out leftovers for dinner.

"Oh yeah, how's that going?" Marley asked. Ever since school had started, she hadn't really spoken with the 13 year old as much, especially in the weeks leading up to her glee audition.

"Well, she found out tonight that she got Tiger Lily tonight." It was a good thing her sister had gotten such a specific part, or else Marley honestly wouldn't have remembered she was doing Peter Pan.

"Really?! That's great! Is she excited?" Marley asked, staring at the food that now rested on the counter in disgust and longing at the same time.

"Well, she's down in the den, frantically trying to learn her lines." The older of the two laughed.

"Awww. Listen, I'm going to head to bed early tonight. Glee takes a lot out of you." Marley said. Her mother nodded in understanding and gave her a quick kiss before Marley took off upstairs.

_**So, this idea kind of came to me in a dream last night. Tell me what you think. I'm kind of open to anything right now, so if you guys maybe wanna see Jarley, or Karley, or anything else, please let me know!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Marley woke up the next day for school later than usual. She hurried to get a shower and was in the process of getting dressed when her eyes locked on the mirror. More importantly, her stomach. She felt a wave of disgust wash over herself as she forced herself to look away. Sighing, Marley pulled her extra small cardigan on, and then slipped on her skirt before exiting the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Marley was on her way out the door, seeing that the bus was already out there, when she caught sight of herself _again _in the hallway mirror. Good God, her thighs were practically bulging out of her skirt. Marley felt bile rise in the back of her throat before she forced herself out the door.

* * *

Marley made it through the school day without catching sight of herself again in a mirror. She struggled with watching Kitty cuddle up with Jake in the halls, but at least it took her mind off of her weight. It was when the last bell of the day rang that she made a bee-line for the girls' room. She had about five minutes before glee rehearsal would start, which would give her just enough time to "lighten up".

Marley held her hair back with one hand, and crouched down in front of the toilet. She pushed her two fingers into the back of her throat and felt her gag reflex immediately respond. A couple seconds later, she jerked them out and felt the vomit rising up her throat.

Marley coughed and spit the last bit of the vomit out of her mouth before standing up. She took a couple deep breaths to clear her head, and then flushed the toilet. As the water washed away the evidence of what she had done, the brunette turned and exited the stall. She gasped as she came face to face with Kitty.

"You sick Marley?" The cheerleader's eyebrow cocked and she smirked. Marley quickly shook her head and thought of an excuse.

"I, um, I think it was something I ate." Marley said, quickly hurrying to wash her hands. She could feel Kitty's glare burning holes in her back.

As soon as Marley left the bathroom, Kitty whipped out her phone. This would be perfect "evidence" for a new rumor against the annoying brown haired girl. And most importantly, would keep Jake away from her.

Marley hurried down the hall, towards the choir room. She took the time to rinse her mouth out in one of the water fountains, glad to have the sour taste out of her mouth. Now feeling almost refreshed, Marley stepped into the choir room, ready to begin rehearsal.

_**Look, I know this is really short, and honestly my chapters are normally three times this long, but I'm insanely busy! I'll try to keep up more, but please review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Rehearsal went well for Marley, other than the fact that poor Sam had to lift her into the air in one part of their choreography. The poor boy was probably going to throw out his back. As soon as Mr. Schue released them, she had grabbed her bag and was out the door.

Marley made it home in no time and walked in on her mother and sister eating dinner. She gave them both small smiles and then sat down in her normal seat. Her plate had already been fixed, with roast beef, mashed potatoes, and peas. Marley didn't say much at the table, but listened contently as her sister talked about how her musical was going. Once the table was cleared, Marley excused herself and started upstairs.

After gathering her pajamas, Marley hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She then kneeled in front of the toilet and began her nightly ritual. Minutes later, she was coughing the remains of her dinner into the toilet and then stood up to flush. She then stripped, being carefully to avoid the mirror, and then stepped into the shower, glad for the relaxation.

Half an hour later, Marley stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed. She wrung out her dripping hair and dried it with a towel a bit before stepping onto her scale. 102 pounds. She had only lost three in the past week. Marley was going to have to step up her routine if she wanted to keep from being the punch line to fat jokes.

Marley climbed into bed, glad to finally relax. She pinched the pit of "fat" on her stomach and grimaced. What was it going to take to get rid of it? Her mind raced for the next hour until finally, she was able to sleep.

* * *

When Marley got to school the next day, something wasn't right. Kids were giving her strange looks, some of them smirking. The brunette chose to keep her head down and clutch her books a little bit tighter to her chest. When she finally got to her locker, Marley looked up to find a condom taped to it. What the hell?

Marley quickly tore the small square off of her locker and tossed it aside. What the hell was going on? She heard snickers behind her, and bit her lip as she chose to ignore them. Suddenly, Jacob Ben Israel appeared out of nowhere, shoving a microphone into her face. One of the AV club members pointed a camera at her from behind him.

"Any comment on the fact that you are now known as McKinley's newest Juno?" The dorky boy asked, pushing the microphone closer to her face. Marley's eyebrows scrunched together and then rose as everything clicked together. They thought she was pregnant.

"What? No! I'm not pregnant!" Marley fired back, shutting her locker.

"We have reports that you were throwing up in an apparent case of morning sickness yesterday in the bathroom!" Jacob yelled after the brunette as she walked away. Marley felt anger boil up inside her. It was Kitty. But….who could blame her for starting the rumor. The fat on her stomach could pass as a baby bump. Her throwing up could just be used as evidence.

Marley rounded a corner, trying to fight the tears in her eyes, when she bumped into Kitty. The blonde smiled with a mixture of fake sweetness and cockiness.

"Sorry Marley. You know, you should really be more careful. We don't want your little baby getting knocked around in there." The Cheerio remarked, glancing down at Marley's stomach. The brunette finally let a few tears escape before she whirled around and ran into the girls' bathroom.

_**Again, I'm sorry this is really short, but I'm super busy this week. Please review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Marley locked herself in the handicapped stall and slowly slid with her back against the wall, down to the floor. Sobs hitched in her throat as she struggled to keep them quiet. Nevertheless, they echoed around in the bathroom, bouncing off the walls. The brunette crawled over to the toilet and shoved two fingers down her throat. With how worked up she was, it didn't take long for her body to react and she heaved up the little bit of food still in her stomach. Marley coughed and spit the remainder of fluid in her mouth back into the toilet before standing up and flushing. Purging had calmed her down a bit, and she slowly unlocked the stall door and opened it. Luckily, the bathroom was empty this time.

Marley's brown eyes met themselves in the mirror, now bloodshot from crying. She wiped away at them just as the door opened and Ryder stepped in, his face etched with concern.

"Mar, are you okay? I um, I heard about the rumor." The boy asked, coming up beside her and putting his hand on her arm. Marley attempted to turn away, not wanting him to see her like this.

"This is the girl's room, you can't be in here." Was the only thing she could come up with.

"It doesn't matter right now. Are you alright? Do you want me to drive you home?" Ryder offered, stepping around to the other side of Marley so that she would look at him.

"I'll be fine. But thank you." Marley lied, faking a smile. Ryder didn't seem convinced.

"Look, if Kitty wasn't a girl, I'd totally punch her in the face for you. And no one even really believes that rumor anyway." The brown hair boy said, attempting to get a real smile out of her. At to his satisfaction, the corners of her mouth turned upwards a bit and she wiped at her eyes again.

"Thanks Ryder." Marley said. The other teen grinned and pulled her into a hug.

"Anytime." He replied, taking her arm and escorting her out of the restroom. They were met almost immediately by Jake.

"Marley! Are-" Ryder cut the other boy off.

"Save it Puckerman." Ryder shoved past him, arm wrapped protectively around Marley. Jake's eyebrows scrunched together in anger and his jaw locked, but he didn't pursue the two. Instead, he turned and walked down the hall to find Kitty at her locker.

"What the hell Kitty? Not okay!" Jake practically yelled. The blonde Cheerio smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Please, Little Miss Fatty-In-Training overreacted. Trust me; I've spread _way _worse rumors about people before." Kitty said as she continued pulling books out of her locker.

"She's not fat, at all! Why would you say that about her?" Jake demanded, feeling anger boil in his stomach.

"She's not fat _yet. _Give it a few years. I'm just trying to get her ready for the insults to come." Kitty shrugged, shutting her locker and turning away. She started walking towards her next class and Jake followed her close behind.

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" Jake said coldly as he stalked past her.

"I'm actually the Head Bitch around here, but thank you anyway!" Kitty called after him. It took every ounce of willpower Jake had not to turn around as he continued down the hall.

* * *

The rest of the day went slowly, but eventually, it came time for Glee club. Ryder made sure to save Marley a seat beside him, far away from Kitty and Jake. The brunette seemed grateful, and kept her eyes glued to the floor as the rest of the club trickled in. By that time of the day, the rumor had been dispersed, something Ryder had made sure of, and the topic of pregnancy was carefully avoided.

The last period of the day was spent practicing their dance moves for an upcoming assembly. Marley's normal bubbly personality was reserved as she went through the steps. By the time the class ended, she could feel her body shaking from lack of nutrients, something she took as a _good sign._ As soon as the bell rang, she was on her way out the door, stopping briefly at her locker for a couple of books. After that, she made her way out to her mother's car and climbed in.

"How was your day?" Marley's mother asked as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Marley could see Kitty smirking at her from the sidewalk and quickly averted her eyes and turned her attention back to her mother.

"Fine." She answered tiredly. Her eyes were heavy and dry from crying earlier and she wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl in bed, and sleep.

"Nothing exciting?" Her mother asked, braking at a stop sign and then pulling forward again.

"Not really." Marley mumbled, resting her head against the window.

"Is everything alright? You seem upset." Mrs. Rose questioned, glancing over at her daughter before returning her gaze to the road.

"I'm just really tired, Mom." Marley's excuse seemed to satisfy her mother's curiosity, as the woman said no more. The rest of the ride home was silent, and Marley was extremely grateful when they pulled up to their house. She quickly made her way through the door, struggling to keep her balance, as she was a bit lightheaded.

"Hey Mar." Came her younger sister's greeting from the living room. Marley gave a small smile to the 13 year old and waved at her before hurrying up the stairs, into her room. The brunette threw herself onto her bed, pulled the covers over her head, and fell asleep.

_**Hey guys. The show I've been in just ended, so I'll be able to update a LOT faster now! Yay! Thank you all for the reviews and I love hearing ideas from you guys. Keep it up!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Weeks passed. Marley had been keeping up with her old habits, only this time she hid it better. She was never caught again, locked the school's bathroom doors, and made sure her mother and sister weren't around when she was doing "the act". Much to her satisfaction, her bones had started protruding from her skin more and more, and she had lost several pounds. Kitty had even started being nice to her and just a few days ago, had given her laxatives to help with the weight loss.

* * *

Marley walking into the choir room and was surprised to see five figures standing around the piano. As she got closer, she recognized them from videos of previous glee performances. They were _the _alumni.

Marley took her spot next to Kitty and followed the blonde's gaze, which was stuck on no other than Quinn Fabray. Before Marley could say anything, Finn burst into the room, looking strikingly like Mr. Schue, and started introducing them. Before she knew it, he had paired her with Santana freaking Lopez. The Santana Lopez. The most terrifying yet amazing girl to ever go to McKinley. Marley couldn't help but notice how perfect her figure was and it made her self-conscious.

* * *

"Hi." Santana greeted the younger girl as she entered the choir room at the end of the day. Marley waved and gave the Latina a small smile.

"So, you're the famous Marley Mr. Schue had been telling me about? The only girl to make the beginning of the year Glee auditions?" Santana asked as she pulled one of the red chairs over to the one she was already sitting in.

"That's me." Marley replied, taking a seat next to Santana.

"So let me hear something." Santana said, ushering in Brad. He took his place at the piano.

"Um, uh, okay?" The brunette stuttered as she stood up from the chair. She rattled her brain for the right song to sing. One popped into her brain and she decided it would be perfect. Marley whispered the title into Brad's ear and he nodded before starting into the intro. Marley took a deep breath before singing.

_In the light of the sun_

_Is there anyone? Oh, it has begun_

_Oh dear, you look so lost_

_Your eyes are red, the tears are shed_

_This world you must have crossed, you said_

_You don't know me_

_And you don't even care, oh yeah_

_And you said, you don't know me_

_And you don't wear my chains, oh yeah_

Santana smiled in encouragement as Marley sang through the song and made her way to the bridge.

_She said I think I'll go to Boston_

_I think I'll start a new life_

_I think I'll start it over_

_Where no one knows my name_

_I'll get out of California_

_I'm tired of the weather_

_I think I'll get a lover_

_And fly 'em out to Spain_

_Oh yeah and I think I'll go to Boston_

_I think that I was tired_

_I think I need a new town_

_To leave this all behind_

Marley struggled to read Santana's face as she sang through the rest of the song. Was she just smiling to be nice, or was she actually impressed? Finally, she finished singing the song and Santana clapped. Marley felt herself sigh in relief.

"That was great! You're really good." Santana said, pulling the younger girl into a hug. She couldn't help but notice how skinny she was. Like _really _skinny.

"Thank you, so much." Marley replied as she stepped back from the hug. Hugs were becoming something she wasn't exactly comfortable with. Having people wrap their arms around her and them being able to feel the fat on her made her cringe. Now that these thoughts had inserted themselves in her head, Marley knew she needed to throw up, _now._

"Listen, I have to be home really soon today, so can we cut this short?" Marley asked anxiously. Santana knew at once that she was lying. Nevertheless, she went along with it.

"Sure, we'll pick it up tomorrow." Santana said, waving the girl off. Marley was halfway out the door before Santana had even answered.

Marley was hiding something; Santana could tell. It was written all over her face the moment she stepped out of the hug. Which meant Santana was going to have to do some snooping.

* * *

Marley burst into the school's bathroom, quickly checked all the stalls, locked the door, and then finally knelt in front of one of the toilets. Moments later, she was heaving up the small amount of food she had consumed at lunch that day. Once the contents of her stomach were emptied, Marley stood up quickly and went to rinse her mouth. Her teeth had been especially sensitive lately and after doing some research, she realized that the acid from her stomach was eating away at the enamel.

After unlocking the bathroom door and sneaking out into the hallway, Marley hurried home. Her short session with Santana was replaying over and over again in her head, and she was beginning to have doubts that the older girl had actually liked her. Maybe she was just being nice. Although, Santana had never had a reputation for being especially nice to people.

* * *

"Hey sweetie." Marley's mother greeted her as her daughter walked in the door. The brunette smiled and waved before sitting at the kitchen counter.

"How was your day?" The older of the two asked as she worked on preparing dinner. Marley wasn't sure if the smell of the food was nauseating or appetizing. Food had that effect on her nowadays.

"Good, we got mentors today in glee. Some of the alumni came home for Thanksgiving, so they're going to help us out. I got Santana Lopez." Marley replied.

"Good for you! Did you get to sing for her?" Before Marley could answer, her phone rang. The brunette pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the name on the screen. It was Jake.

_**Hey guys, I've been having some MAJOR writer's block lately. If you guys want to see something in the story, please either review or PM me because I'm really struggling right now. Thanks!**_


End file.
